Queen Annurca - Design and fab a t-shirt - SCOPES Digital Fabrication

Lesson Details

Subjects
Age Ranges
Standards
Fab-Safety.1, Fab-Modeling.1, Fab-Fabrication.1, Fab-Design.1
Author

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Author

Michele Turco
Michele Turco
Fablab manager

Summary

This project was carried out for the middle school children of Valle di Maddaloni – Campania – Italy. This territory is known throughout Italy for the production of a quality of the best and healthiest apples that are present in the world: The “Annurca” apple. Considered a product that belongs to the gastronomic tradition of the Campania region.People who live in this area celebrate the harvest of this apple annually (among the few in the world that before being placed on the market undergoes a process of maturation in special honeycombs, of hemp or straw) During this event the whole city is celebrating, and schools participate in the success of this great event. For this year, we made the boys make t-shirts that they then wore during the party. The tshirts were designed by the boys through Inkscape, and then we made 2 versions of these shirts. The first by cutting out the vinyl which we then applied to the shirts. The second one, we made cardboard stencils that served to decorate the shirts.

 

What You'll Need

  1. Vinyl Cutter
  2. Laser Cutter
  3. Cardboard – A3 – 0.4mm thikness
  4. Tshirt (One per student)
  5. Iron or heat-press
  6. tweezers
  7. scissors
  8. computer (one per student)
  9. pencil
  10. acrylic paints for t.shirt

 

Software:

Inkscape, RDworks

The Instructions

Step1

Prepare the computer room and PCs with all the software we need. A small introduction on the concept of logo

Share with students the following or similar images around logo design:

 

Fiat History Logo

Logos reflect the values ​​of a group or individual. They can change to reflect updated ideals held by those they represent

Ask students in groups to create a list of criteria and constraints around the project. Give students the criteria that these logos will be put on a t-shirt. Some suggestions may include:

  • Size – no larger than 30 x 30 cm
  • Appearance – meaningful symbols to represent value
  • Content – Annurca apple – non-overlapping curves and lines
  • Time – three full class periods (or 3 contact hours)

 

Step2

Design "Quenn Annurca" logo with Inkscape

Distribute computers to students. Ask them to open the Inkscape software. Have students create a folder where they will save their project file. Guide the students in this folder and invite them to create a new “Project file”.

 

Allow 10-minute students to explore this software without answering their design questions. This will provide students with a better understanding of this tool and the sense of self and peer confidence

 

Once all students have three sketches the instructor will encourage students to demonstrate their knowledge of Inkscape. Students should be able to complete the following tasks:

  • Place a shape on new document
  • change the fill and outline of a line / shape
  • Undo or redo
  • Align an object to perfect center

 

 

 

Step3

Cut the stencils to decorate the students' shirts Cut the vinyl to be applied to the shirts that the students will give to the teachers

During this step we will show the kids how the vinyl cutter works, by cutting a test sticker. Only the tshirts that the students will give to the teachers will be made with vinyl stickers. The students’ shirts will instead be decorated by the students themselves, with the aid of stencils that can be made with the vinylcutter or with a laser cutter (as in our case)

 

Safety note: The vinyl cutter uses a rapid moving blade to cut vinyl. The heat press or iron can reach temperatures of 200°C. the laser cutting machine is very powerful and very dangerous if used incorrectly

To ensure student safety, it is recommended that only the instructor operate these machines.

For this reason the students decorating the shirts through the use of stencils, not with the vinyl cutter, or the press.

 

 

 

 

Step4

Fab T-Shirts

After making the tshirts that will be given to the teachers, we deliver to the students the stencils that they will use for their tshirts. It is very important to provide students with the right information, so that they can make tshirts without smearing any shirt

Insert and parting that prevents the color from passing through the back of the fabric and then the tshirt. Provide students with a series of colors that they can freely choose, and which they will apply through stencils and sponges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step5

Final result

Standards

  • (Fab-Safety.1): I can safely conduct myself in a Fab Lab and observe operations under instructor guidance.
  • (Fab-Modeling.1): I can arrange and manipulate simple geometric elements, 2D shapes, and 3D solids using a variety of technologies.
  • (Fab-Fabrication.1): I can follow instructor guided steps that link a software to a machine to produce a simple physical artifact.
  • (Fab-Design.1): I can be responsible for various activities throughout a design process within a group under instructor guidance.

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  1. Fab Foundation February 14, 2020
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